Character Combat Styles

[YesGood]

So, I'm pleased to find that there are many more people who enjoy RP combat than I originally thought. I'm also pleased to find so many people have varying approaches to weapons and classes with their characters. I realize that this might give some people some brain food- fleshing out how and why your character might take to weapons and combat.

 

So here is yet another little skeleton for those of you who have combat-oriented characters (even if you don't actually participate in 'dueling' other people.) These are not intended, and should not be used, for meta-gaming purposes.

 

NOTE: I implore you to refrain from debating whether or not RP combat is viable. I know many people dislike it and I'm not asking you to do it at all, but it's one of those topics in RP that, if discussed, can get really offensive really quickly to the point of views of others.

 

Character:

Primary Weapon(s):

Class-equivalent:

Style:

Offense/Defense/Versatile:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Summary:

Extra:

 

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Character: Siobhain Surtsthalwyn

Primary Weapon(s): One-handed sword + Shield

Class-equivalent: Paladin/Gladiator

Style: Hoplomachus-esque (sword + shield + greave - spear)

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Primarily Defensive

Strengths: Stamina, Strength

Weaknesses: Agility, Range

 

Summary: Siobhain spent some years learning the sword and shield from a Sultansworn and still, these are her primary choice of weapons. Though proficiently ambidextrous in terms of switching sword and shield arms, she tends to take the blade in her right hand to face combatants she perceives will spend more time attacking her. Her style varies depending on whom she is facing and is easily broken into two forms.

 

Defensive- Her most comfortable style involves wielding her gladius in her right hand and her shield on her left. Facing her opponent with her left side, arm bent and shield in front, she lowers herself into a semi-crouched stance. Her right leg, farthest from her opponent, bears more of her weight, slightly bent at the knee, allowing her to keep her fore-foot light to avoid being unbalanced by leg-sweeps. This stance lessens her range with the sword, leaving her to strike only if her opponent moves in close, usually aiming for the chest, arm-pit, femoral artery, or even the collar bone. The crouched posture aides in lowering her center of gravity closer to the ground, increasing the difficulty of forcibly pushing her backwards or to either side. This lowered stance also allows her to quickly adjust her shield's position to guard her face, chest, or upper legs as needed; though using her left hand to wield the shield lessens the power of her shield strikes.

 

*Used most often against Pugilists, Swordsmen, and Marauders.

 

Offensive- Her offensive style is somewhat less comfortable and requires substantially more energy. Though her body still faces her opponent with her left side initially, that is where many of the resemblances to her defensive style end. Wielding her sword in the left hand and her shield in the right, Siobain bends her legs only slightly, keeping more weight on her front, left foot rather than her hind foot, in order to give more range to her sword attacks. Though the gladius is crafted, predominantly, for thrusts, she tends to open with arcing swings, employing far more footwork to push her close to a defensive opponent before dissolving into parries with the blade or oval guard of the sword. Her shield is used much more like a weapon itself, used to swipe away a blade and strike at the hip joints, knees, shoulders, or throats of her opponents, depending on their size. While she lacks some strength and dexterity with her blade in the left hand, her attacks with the shield are powered with the concussive force of her dominant arm.

 

 Her entire right side will often swing forward as she pivots on her left foot, bringing the shield into weapons or faces without prejudice. This style also allows her to lob her dome-shaped buckler at her enemy with impressive accuracy; a tactic often employed as a distraction in order to close the distance. If ever her shield is lost, Siobhain will take her sword in her right hand and proceed with her attacks, using her free hand to grasp at weapons or limbs as needed in order to drive the weapon home. This style is difficult, urging her to end a fight as quickly as possible, and often ends with her absorbing wounds to the body as sacrifice in order to close the distance between herself and another. All attacks in this style are aimed to be lethal or crippling as she does not have the ability to continue closing distances for long periods of time.

*Used often against Lancers, Archers, and sometimes Marauders.

 

Extra: Much of Siobhain's fighting tactics are inspired by a blend of Gladiator and Viking sword + shield techniques. Due to her height and the fact that she is female (putting her center of gravity a bit lower than Roegadyn males), crouching serves to aide her ability to maintain her balance. Over all, I realized that her fighting is somewhat reminiscent of Sophitia's from Soul Calibur, with less kicking and jumping-- in fact the characters are rather similar as well. This wasn't intentional as I've spent very little time playing Soul Calibur and honestly... Talim or Kilik all the way.

[LandStander]

Character: Dennthota Ahtahrmwyn

Primary Weapon(s): Her body

Class-equivalent: Pugilist

Style: Keysi Fighting Method

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Offense

Strengths: Endurance, Strength

Weaknesses: Willpower, Agility

Summary: Despite being able to pick up any weapon and have a moderate skill in using it (besides the spear), she prefers to use her fist. She comes from a family line of sellswords and was trained in the art of combat since she was a small child. 

Being large, even in Roegadyn standard, she tries her best to close into her attacker and take them out in as few hits as possible, usually putting too much weight behind her blows, she is easily knocked off balance. She has a preference for grappling as this gives her the opportunity to really utilize her strength and overpower her enemy. Once she gets in close she likes head butting and attacking with hard bony joints. Not too many kicks are seen from her, but she will use her knees if her arms are too busy. 

 

Not afraid to take a hit, she sometimes will hunch over, creating a shield over some of her torso and face, with her forearms, and charge right at an enemy in a B-line. She is also not above fighting dirty and will not hesitate using anything around her to give her the upper edge. 

 

Extra: When seeing her fight its hard to tell that she has any training above a wild street thug. She once had a more graceful and refined style a few years ago, but tossed it to the wind for something more chaotic and forceful. A fighting style that fit her new personality a bit better. 

[YesGood]

Character: Dennthota Ahtahrmwyn

Primary Weapon(s): Her body

Class-equivalent: Pugilist

Style: Keysi Fighting Method

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Offense

Strengths: Endurance, Strength

Weaknesses: Willpower, Agility

Summary: Despite being able to pick up any weapon and have a moderate skill in using it (besides the spear), she prefers to use her fist. She comes from a family line of sellswords and was trained in the art of combat since she was a small child. 

Being large, even in Roegadyn standard, she tries her best to close into her attacker and take them out in as few hits as possible, usually putting too much weight behind her blows, she is easily knocked off balance. She has a preference for grappling as this gives her the opportunity to really utilize her strength and overpower her enemy. Once she gets in close she likes head butting and attacking with hard bony joints. Not too many kicks are seen from her, but she will use her knees if her arms are too busy. 

 

Not afraid to take a hit, she sometimes will hunch over, creating a shield over some of her torso and face, with her forearms, and charge right at an enemy in a B-line. She is also not above fighting dirty and will not hesitate using anything around her to give her the upper edge. 

 

Extra: When seeing her fight its hard to tell that she has any training above a wild street thug. She once had a more graceful and refined style a few years ago, but tossed it to the wind for something more chaotic and forceful. A fighting style that fit her new personality a bit better. 

 Love it, love it, love it. First purely fisticuffs Roe I've seen thus far.

[Michikyou]

Character: Naih'ir Molkov

Primary Weapon(s): Tome, Own body.

Class-equivalent: Arcanist (Icly a Blue Mage)

Style: Learns from his travels and his past of keeper of beasts and animals for his clan.

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Versatile fighting ability

Strengths: A wide range of somewhat unconventional spells to inflict status on peoples. A quick thinker

Weaknesses: Dexterity, s mostly a pacifist.

Summary: Despite the mans large size and athletic body, Naih'ir is a learned person who relates more to the creatures of the wild than a bow in hand. However all talents he has learned have been for the prevention of violence against him or himself. Such as the ability to slow, silence or weaken an opponent temporarily rather than causing direct damage. 

 

Naih'ir see's violence as a meaningless way to deal with ones issues.

 

Extra: Naih'ir has only fought once, OOCLY I use the mechanics and list of spells from FFXI as a base for his abilities, and not all of the abilities are available to him (think 10 spells at most)

[YesGood]

Character: Naih'ir Molkov

Primary Weapon(s): Tome, Own body.

Class-equivalent: Arcanist (Icly a Blue Mage)

Style: Learns from his travels and his past of keeper of beasts and animals for his clan.

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Versatile fighting ability

Strengths: A wide range of somewhat unconventional spells to inflict status on peoples. A quick thinker

Weaknesses: Dexterity, s mostly a pacifist.

Summary: Despite the mans large size and athletic body, Naih'ir is a learned person who relates more to the creatures of the wild than a bow in hand. However all talents he has learned have been for the prevention of violence against him or himself. Such as the ability to slow, silence or weaken an opponent temporarily rather than causing direct damage. 

 

Naih'ir see's violence as a meaningless way to deal with ones issues.

 

Extra: Naih'ir has only fought once, OOCLY I use the mechanics and list of spells from FFXI as a base for his abilities, and not all of the abilities are available to him (think 10 spells at most)

 

Also very interesting. I'm interested to see more spell casters and their methods-- I think I could easily accept a Pugi/Caster blend if the spells were somewhat limited or the physical attacks were. I think such a style would be very interesting.

[Sev]

Ooh this is interesting.

 

Character: V'lannis Teuto

Primary Weapon(s): Recurve bow

Class-equivalent: Archer

Style: Stealth Ambusher / Skirmisher

Offense/Defense/Versatile:  Versatile

Strengths: Range, Surprise, Speed

Weaknesses: Heavy armour, shields, fast-moving targets, homing / area of effect Spells

 

Summary: Given her history of being something of a survivalist, V'lannis is fairly adept using a bow. Though in a combat situation, if she knows something is coming that needs to be taken down she'll usually spend the time to search for an advantageous position, usually a tall tree, rocky outcrop or heavily-wooded area that she can hide in and wait for the perfect moment to strike. However, if sprung or otherwise unable to prepare for an ambush, she'll switch to a 'run 'n' gun' style of skirmishing, keeping the pressure on the foe until she can land a mortal hit (Or any, if the arrows are poisoned), or be forced to retreat for one reason or another.

 

Extra: If caught in close-combat or unable to use her bow, V'lannis would fall back on secondary weapons, those being her hatchet, climbing pick and knife. While these weapons are largely unsuitable, she would launch a relentless barrage of attacks making use of her exceptional agility, if only to tire or stagger her foe so that she can break off and run away.

[Martiallais]

Character: Zarek Windsoul

Primary Weapon(s): Fists & Feet

Class-equivalent: Pugilist

Style: Serious Martial Artist meets Showman

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Versatile

Strengths: Agility, Endurance, Speed

Weaknesses: Range, Strength (in that he can be overpowered)

Summary: Zarek likes to fight up close, delivering quick punches & kicks to soften up an opponent before going for a big, usually flashy, finish. While his core skills came from teachings that he practiced growing up, his own twists and tweaks to the style come from fighting on the Bloodsands where putting on a show was half the attraction, giving him a mix of both style and substance.

 

Extra: For actual practitioners or those who have seen or studied with Ala Mhigan fighters, Zarek's moves actually (unbeknownst to him) have their bases in that same style due to his mother's teachings. If someone wants to pick up that hook and run with it (especially a Highlander) then by all means!

[Mr.Bear]

Character: Naih'ir Molkov

Primary Weapon(s): Tome, Own body.

Class-equivalent: Arcanist (Icly a Blue Mage)

Style: Learns from his travels and his past of keeper of beasts and animals for his clan.

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Versatile fighting ability

Strengths: A wide range of somewhat unconventional spells to inflict status on peoples. A quick thinker

Weaknesses: Dexterity, s mostly a pacifist.

Summary: Despite the mans large size and athletic body, Naih'ir is a learned person who relates more to the creatures of the wild than a bow in hand. However all talents he has learned have been for the prevention of violence against him or himself. Such as the ability to slow, silence or weaken an opponent temporarily rather than causing direct damage. 

 

Naih'ir see's violence as a meaningless way to deal with ones issues.

 

Extra: Naih'ir has only fought once, OOCLY I use the mechanics and list of spells from FFXI as a base for his abilities, and not all of the abilities are available to him (think 10 spells at most)

 

Also very interesting. I'm interested to see more spell casters and their methods-- I think I could easily accept a Pugi/Caster blend if the spells were somewhat limited or the physical attacks were. I think such a style would be very interesting.

 

Character: K'athir Nunh

Primary Weapon(s): Staff, magical ability, own body

Class-equivalent: Black Mage/Thaumaturge

Style: Duel-centric style, otherwise backround support

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Versatile fighting ability

Strengths: Very much used to fighting one on one. Precision strikes, he uses just what is needed to deal with it quickly.

Weaknesses: unwilling to use his full potential (with reason, considering what he uses in a duel this would be harder to not make fatal if we're talking about the destruction area of spells) his personality can very much affect the way he fights, it depends what state he is in. This can turn him reckless. Otherwise his weaknesses would depend on the situation entirely

Summary:

 

K'athir is a Nunh, and therefore has known his share of challenges and is prepared to deal with them should they come again. His fighting style reflects this, he is precise and acts accordingly to try and be as effective as possible to end such a challenge in as fast a time as possible.

 

His family line is more magic centric, but perhaps by tradition he has learned to use the bow regardless and knows how to use his body. (though he never uses a bow anymore. The only lessons he kept from that in particular was the precision) How he deals with a battle completely depends, as Nunh he keeps it in mind and conditions himself to be flexible.

 

That said, he is not without his weaknesses. He prefers to end a battle quickly if it's concerning another versed in magical ability as he -lacks sustainable defenses-. He hits fast, hard and precise. Seeks to exploit weakness in the enemy and will cycle through different ways of approach quickly. Be that using the enemy's weapon against him, slowing or otherwise affecting the opponent his state, or otherwise.

[John Spiegel]

Character: John Spiegel

Primary Weapon(s): Any two-handers, his fists if he must, occasional one-handers (mainly greatsword and scythe... leave me alone >.>)

Class-equivalent: WAR/very weak BLM! (DRK DRK DRK DRK DRK!)

Style: Survival / Fun!

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Offense, baby.

Strengths: Strength, stamina, stubbornness

Weaknesses: Agility, magic resources, one eye

 

Summary: As stated above, John's fighting style is survivalist-ic. He's effectively been on his own since he ran away from Ala Mhigo at the age of twelve and he has quite the habit of getting into trouble (singed his scalp, lost an eye, got a buttload of scars...). He really never had any actual combat training outside some basic stuff in the Ala Mhigan military orphanage before he ran away. He's usually clad in darksteel armor, resulting in poor agility. If his opponent gets in close, he drops an elbow. If his foe is using ranged weapons, he tries to close the distance and uses terrain to his advantage or whatever is laying around (pots, rocks, whatever). One may call this cheap, but survival isn't always about "playing fair". On the lighter side, he does enjoy fighting even moreso than eating at times. He can view even a pretty rough fight as being fun.

His lost eye and years of adaptation has forged him to keep his senses on his blindspot, but this can be circumvented if he's highly distracted.

Extra: It turns out a good bit of the fighting method of JJ is similar to that of Guts from Berserk, which I didn't know of until years after JJ first came about.

[Grott]

Character: Uther Skystrider

Primary Weapon(s): Spears (and other shafted weapons including lances, halberds, pilums, javelins, pikes, etc.)

Class-equivalent: Dragoon

Style: Acrobatic, fast

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Versatile, leaning on offensive

Strengths: Reach, speed, strength

Weaknesses: Technology, magic, small and agile opponents

 

Summary: Uther was born and bred to fight dragons in Ishgard. He is a dragoon knight in both personality and fighting style. Being a dragoon, he uses a great deal of aerial and acrobatic fighting maneuvers that have earned him the name "Skystrider". To move around the bulking, flying mass of scales and fire that dragons are, he has to be quick and he has to be a hell of a jumper. He uses his art to defend, though his art, in practice, is much more offensive than defensive. He has tried to modify it for defense, despite his incredible reach and the power of his thrust making him a much more effective killing machine than a protector. As an Elezen, his arms are about 3 fulms long, and his spear is usually taller than 7 fulms. This gives him amazing melee range, which he knows how to manipulate extremely well. On top of this, his aerodynamic form and long stride make him very, very fast. Along with speed and reach, his Elezen body, years of practice, and weapon of choice allow for substantial power in each spear thrust or halberd swing. Few melee fighters can manipulate a battlefield like he can. Unfortunately for Uther, his time in Ishgard, away from most of the modern world, has made him ignorant to much of Eorzea's technology. In a recent battle with Isaac Jacobi, for instance, he was caught off guard several times by Jacobi's collection of gadgetry, causing him to lose the fight in the end. Magic has a similar disorienting effect on him. While not as foreign to him as high-end technology, any type of aether manipulation is poorly understood by Uther. Uther is an extremely efficient monster killer, and is nearly equally skilled at fighting targets of similar size to him. It is not entirely implausible for a quick-thinking and agile fighter of small stature to get by him, however. This is a problem he can remedy much more easily than his handicap against technology or magic, and it's rarely the deciding factor in a bout. 

 

Extra: Uther's fighting style is a result of mixing what I know of Ishgard, what I know of Elezen, and what I know of medieval combat. He is very much a white knight and will rarely attack first, unless he feels the ends justify the means. He doesn't fight dirty unless it's the only way to walk out alive against a much more powerful opponent. This type of chivalry often puts him at odds with his much more ruthless counterparts in Misericorde. 

[Ciara Snow]

Character: Mackayla Lane (Mac)

Primary Weapon(s): Cutlass, Daggers, Great Axe(eventually gun)

Secondary: Fishing nets, Minor Archery, learning the Polearm

Class-equivalent: Ex-Pirate, Mercenary

Style: Pirate

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Offensive

Strengths: Close ranged combat, small and agile Mac uses her small womanly stature to take advantage of her opponents.

Weaknesses: Pride, ranged attackers, Magic

Summary: Mackayla grew up in Limsa, her mother died when she was young thus forcing her fathers hand to train her as a pirate. For her own survivability she was taught at a young age to use guns and throwing daggers to attack from a safer distance later, the art of Great Axes to help her climb aboard enemy ships. During her time as a Pirate she became skilled in the Cutlass and shield when Great axes yielded her less defensive capabilities from ranged attacks. Now a days Mackayla works as a mercenary stationed in Limsa and is less seen with her great axe as she has come to favor her cutlass and throwing knives. Boredom and a taste for honey wine has had her spending time near Gridania learning how to use a spear and slight training in archery for hunting.

Extra:  Mackayla will resort to dirty fighting if necessary but prefers not to as she is quite confident in her fighting abilities.

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*These 2 characters of mine are not very big into combat but I wanted to mention them nonetheless)

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Character: Ciara Snow

Primary Weapon(s): Self made iron fists, but willing to use her gathering tools or a hammer in a pinch.

Class-equivalent: Pugilist with teachings in Conjury

Style: None, self taught.

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Strategic when she can be, mostly defensive with minor curing abilities.

Strengths: Years of working with metals and mining have given her a great deal of arm strength. Light Conjury taught to her when she was a orphan in Gridania.

Weaknesses: Easily distracted by hurt or fallen comrades. Ciara only fights if she has no choice and take no enjoyment from it. 

Summary: A lightly practiced Conjurer, Ciara became unwilling to fight after her husband died 7 years ago trying to save her life. She grew to be scared and timid until adopting a small starving Lalafell girl named Sukasa off the streets of Uldah. Slowly Ciara warmed up to this child and after the attack of Bahamut upon Uldah, and strove to become stronger to ensure the young girl would never become orphaned again.

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Character: Kyri Sagitta

Primary Weapon(s):Tome, Minions, magic stave's and clubs Harp (Though not very good with a bow)

Class-equivalent:   Mage(Jane of all trades if you may, at least the mage ones)

Style: Scholarly(not necessarily the job however) Ranged magic, Spells, Lullabies

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Defensive, if she stays to fight. Strategic, very flight rather then fight. Whatever keeps her from getting hurt and makes it easier to run away

Strengths: Agile and quick to think. Strategic by nature.

Weaknesses: Not much for fighting, quick to be taken down. Kyri lives in books and studies. Previously a Bard from Ishgard she has the teachings of music and can play a lullaby woven with magic but has always been more of a scholarly type. Though dabbling in magic from various fields she excels in none as most of what she knows comes from books rather then being taught or practiced on the field.

Summary:

After making sufficient gil as a entertainer and secretary, she moved on after the closing of Sanctus and pursued her natural love for books. Mystified by teachings in both thaumaturgy and Conjury she began to learn and study the makings of old books in both. Due to studying more then learning she can dabble in multiple magics but cannot excel in any without proper teaching. As of late a great deal of her time has been dedicated to the Archanist's guild as she sees great potential in the ability of summoning, as well as a way to help the loneliness of the disappearance of her mate five years ago.

[Rio van Rosch]

Character: Rio van Rosch

Primary Weapon(s): Axe, Guns,Explosives

Class-equivalent: Marauder

Style: Garlean Sapper

Offense/Defense/Versatile: 2offensive4u, zero strategy, just boom.

Strengths: Due to Rio's work as a magiengineer, she possesses a large amount of upper body strength and can easily swing her axe around. She also carries around at least one firearm and a massive amount of explosives under her clothes at all times. (Unless she's like, in a cascadier uniform. She's not -that- hammerspace.)

Weaknesses: Huge propensity for friendly fire (ESPECIALLY self-injury). Huge propensity for overkill... property damage... Useless in enclosed spaces due to the sheer radius of all her abilities. Also has zero in the way of magical abilities.

Summary: Rio's style is a simple one. She has bombs, and likes to set them off. From dynamite in her shoes to handcrafted "crystalnades" in her sleeves, Rio is a walking force of nature. A sapper to her core, Rio specializes in fighting large groups and structures where precision isn't required. From collapsing tunnels, to collapsing buildings, to destroying machina, Rio is the bane of any army's infrastructure. 

However, take all that away and you still end up with a very formidable opponent. Trained by the Garlean military in the axe and in firearms, Rio retains at least a fraction of her deadliness at close range. However, her skills in these weapons aren't as notable as her skills as a sapper.

Extra: Most of Rio's over-the-top abilities place her in the same sort of "realm of existence" as comedy characters such as Hildebrand. Unless a serious situation plans on her using explosives for a specific purpose, chances are she'll give and take damage in a manner similar to Team Rocket, from Pokemon. (Including "blasting off" if all her explosives go off!) 

However her axe and firearms do very real damage, and she takes damage from other characters, so watch out when the steel starts swinging!

[YesGood]

I'm very glad to see so much feedback. All kinds of interesting weapons and styles-- Now I feel like Sio is sorely lacking.

[Fystrael Abylstyrwyn]

Character: Fystrael Abylstyrwyn (Swyrswys)

Primary Weapon(s): Billhook, Broadaxe 

Secondary: Fists/Body, Stick/Quarterstaff, Sword/Knife

Class-equivalent: Warrior

Style: Viking Axe; Cutlass-wielding

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Offensive

Strengths: Strength and size - she's tall and strong enough to one-hand a halberd for a short while.

Weaknesses: Magic, archers, shield users, wavering confidence levels.

Summary: Fystrael is self-taught in the axe, with minimal training in pugilism/wrestling and halberd/stick fighting, given that these were the main weapons of her agrarian island village against pirates or bandits.  She favors smaller axes as she started with the household broadaxe, or wield a great axe for slow, massive damage.  Her gross motor skills are not nimble enough for pugilism as a specialty but she does pack a mean punch when she connects.  She has a fairly good sense of balance and mid-range sense of her centre of gravity.

Extra: Fystrael has a habit of ignoring her wounds to get in death blows.  There are rumors that she and her siblings descend from a line of Abyl Bhar - Mad Bears.

[Zyrusticae]

Character: T'rahnu Ihka

Primary Weapon(s): Bardiche/Great Axe

Secondary Weapon(s): Bow, Fists

Class-equivalent: Marauder/Warrior, Archer, Pugilist

Style: The Calculated Beast

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Balanced - T'rahnu prefers equal parts offense and defense, though her "defense" consists almost entirely of shrugging off blows that don't get past her armor and pushing the enemy into a corner.

Strengths: Good instincts; high physical fitness; lots of combat experience and training

Weaknesses: Absolutely no aptitude for magic; susceptible to status effects (poison, slow, sleep, etc.)

Summary: T'rahnu's combat style is highly efficient, focused on disorienting an opponent to get an opening for the killing blow. Her favorite technique involves baiting an attack, catching it between one arm and her torso, and using the leverage to allow her bardiche to cleave the opponent's weapon in twain. Her remarkable physical fitness, with a balanced combination of strength, speed, and stamina, in addition to her ability to read her enemies' intent, makes her a very formidable opponent. The most effective method of countering her is through magic, as her only real plan of attack in such scenarios is to charge the enemy as quickly and attack as brutally as possible in order to prevent them from completing a cast.

Extra: She has gone through hand-to-hand combat training for the event she is without her axe. Her fighting style most closely resembles Krav Maga, owing to her large focus on practical combat techniques over flashy movements. This training makes her a very dangerous individual to sneak up on - it is recommended that all approaching do so by announcing their presence first. She also carries a bow and quiver on her at all times, mostly for the utility it provides when hunting for food. That being said, she is not above using it for combat in the event it is necessary or advantageous to do so.

She is also not above retreating in the event she is clearly outmatched, a skill that has kept her alive even before she took up the axe.

[Erik Mynhier]

Character: Erik Mynhier

Primary Weapon(s): Sword and Shield

Class-equivalent: Paladin/Gladiator (possibly Dark Knight later)

Style: Protective

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Defensive (offensive later as the game develops)

Strengths: Honorable one-on-one combat

Weaknesses: Subterfuge

 

Summary:

Erik's father was a Ravager (what I am calling the DKnight class until it is officially revealed, then I will recon it) in Ala Mhigo before its conquest. He was trained by his father for the first few years of his life as is the custom for Highlanders. After being cast out and the subsequent death of his father, his training shifted to that of his mother who was a conjurer until he was like 16. He moved to Ul'dah and found gil to be hard to find, so he started working as a merc to survive. In that time he realized he was more comfortable with combat then he was with healing so he resumed his martial training. He chose gladiator because several of the forms, despite using a shield as well, were similar to the two-handed techniques used by the Ravagers. His training, including his conjuring, was long but fruitful. All was instrumental to his selection by the Sultansworn to become a Paladin.

 

Extra:

Due to his professional and cultural background, Erik often forgets that people are not as honorable in combat as he is. There have been numerous instances where he has been tricked in battle or has refused to press what he would call an unfair advantage.

[Gharen]

Character: Gharen Wolfsong

Primary Weapon(s): Lance, Sword and Shield

Secondary Weapon(s): Own body, Broad Axe, Bow

Class-equivalent: Lancer/Dragoon, Gladiator

Style: Ala Mhigan Weapon Master

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Versatility and Adaptabilty

 

Summary: Gharen is self-taught in almost everything he knows. Much of his fighting style having evolved simply by watching others initially, then putting this into practice himself, while it may not always appear to be so, he is always watching and listening, attempting to commit to memory footwork, movements, and the patterns that appear in the various fighting styles that he sees.

 

Strengths: Believing that the each known martial style of combat form a wheel, and every style is but a single spoke in that wheel, obtaining even a fundamental understanding of these various methods of combat offer insight and adaptability to whatever weapon focus is used and or faced. The weapon master is able given a wider range of options in order to think outside of the box in the heat of battle and enhancing overall survivability potential for victory by using unconventional tactics in order to keep opponents guessing, and off balance.

 

Weaknesses: The path of becoming a weapon master runs the danger being a Jack of all trades and master of none, leaving oneself open to defeat at the hands of a more specialized opponent. Garnering the fundamentals, then specific specialization, builds a stronger foundation that can be built upon as time goes by.

 

Extra: Gharen's combat style is generally evolving and unconventional without dipping into dishonorable tactics. He will often allow an opponent to become lulled into a sense of security believing they know what they are up against by utilizing a small toolbox of attacks only to in the middle of a fight mix Ala Mhigan Martial Arts or other applicable styles and bring wider ranged combat skills to bear in order to overwhelm an opponent.

[Asyria]

Well, I'm usually very wary of RP combat, but I engage in it with people I feel I can trust, and it can be real fun, so here we go...

 

Character: Agata Blysstahlwyn

Primary Weapon(s): Her body

Class-equivalent: Pugilist/Monk

 

Style: Agata has not "learned" martial arts as much as she grew up brawling and tumbling with other pirates-turned-fishermen. As a result, Her fighting styles has developed from street fighting and backyard wrestling, with actual martial arts techniques thrown in as she learns them. Since moving to Ul'dah in the recent months, she has started to learn more technical moves, apparent to kung fu, and since discovering the joys of Ul'dahn bars (and tavern brawls), she has started to develop something akin to drunken boxing.

 

Offense/Defense/Versatile:  Offense

 

Strengths: Based on.. well, nothing specific, her fighting style tends to surprise opponents, as they never really know what to expect at first. On top of that, Agata loves fighting and has done it for most of her life, resulting in plenty of strength, agility and endurance.

 

Weaknesses: The downside of being self-taught is Agata completely lacks discipline, and her combat style, while wild, powerful, and unpredictable, can be countered easily if one has the wits to go on the defensive and wait for her to make a mistake. She will make one. Or two. Or a half-dozen. The only problem is to to weather the storm. In other words, her weakness is between the ears.

 

Summary:

Put her on the defensive and at first she'll just take it and give back, as for her fighting is all about giving and receiving. You better be able to take what she gives. Let her go first and she'll happily oblige. She won't tire herself out easily, but she'll make mistakes.

 

Extra: Like a drunken boxer, the more she drinks (up to a limit), the stronger, tougher and unpredictable she gets. Nothing mystical here, a good drink will not only turn off one's inhibitions socially, it will also turn off that switch that makes us careful. Drunk, Agata has more fun, feels less pain, and is less worried about hurting herself... but she's also dumber.

 

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Character: Helena Duval

Primary Weapon(s): Axe, sword, fists, what have you

Class-equivalent: All of them

Style: Tactical. Helena isn't particularly strong or tough, or agile... But she's smart. She dutifully respects the rule that states that every move in combat should give you an advantage or eliminate a disadvantage and acts accordingly.

 

 

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Versatile. Very versatile.

 

Strengths: Helena's body might be subpar for a fighter and in truth magic is her area of expertise, but her mind has a good grasp of strategy and tactics, both on a large and personal scale. She might not be fast enough to dodge that attack, but she's determined where, when and how it will come a split second before you launched it. She knows how to read her opponents and how to position herself and use her weapons to optimize her chances to win.

 

 

Weaknesses: If she does get hit, it will hurt. When she does hit, it might not hurt as much as if it was someone more akin to fighting... but at least she knows where and how to hit. More importantly, no matter how smart she can be, no level of I.Q. can truly compensate for endurance and she's sure to lose in extended fights as exhaustion takes it toll.

 

 

Summary: She's good-looking, but that's the extent of her physical advantages. Beware those pretty eyes, however. Behind them (and her glasses) hides a mind that has already thought of a dozen ways to engage hostilities or react to an attack.

 

Extra:  If magic is allowed in whatever physical combat or duel she participates in, run. With curative magic, she can compensate for her physical frailties. That said, she is an honorable young woman and only fights when necessary (note: training IS a necessity in this day and age).

 

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Character: Azyria Ziada, aka Blue Moon

Primary Weapon(s): Spear

Class-equivalent: Lancer/Dragoon

Style: .. I don't honestly know of any spear-based fighting style. If you do, feel free to make suggestions.

 

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Versatile

 

Strengths: Speed, agility and reach are the words here. Never in one place, Azyria uses her strong Miqo'te legs to move quickly around the battlefield, catching opponents off-guard, from the sides, rear or even above. Even in cramped spaces where she cant move easily, she still has the length of her spear on her side. Used to fighting in the streets of Ul'dah against multiple opponents, she's used to taking advantage of her environment and fighting multiple opponents at once, or to isolate them to fight one on one.

 

Weaknesses: A duel on a featureless and level field would leave her baffled at the lack of options. She is also used to quick hit and runs and fast, short fights. She won't tire so easily but will inevitably make mistakes in a long battle, as she will be growing impatient and seeking ways to end it.

 

Summary: Fast, powerful strikes from any direction is what you can expect from the masked spear-wielding vigilante of Ul'dah. She is used to fighting criminals, greedy brass blades, and sometimes monsters.

 

Extra: Azyria is a 1.0 character who was not at Carteneau... which means she's been doing this for five years! She's been particularly active when refugees started pouring into Ul'dah and the greedy and corrupt sought to profit from them. She is an exception to my taking level into account in RP fights... Rushing to level 50 is will not help against 5+ years IC experience. Those who fought at Carteanu however could very well be her betters, despite the time warp. After all, Azyria has never fought in such epic battle.

 

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All of those are on Balmung.

My character on Gilgamesh is a pure spellcaster and is therefore wimp.

[Gideon Aryeh]

Character: Amaare Margolis

Primary Weapon(s): Pure fists, bow and arrow, musket/guns (yes I know they aren't in yet but when they are they will be a primary weapon for him)

Class-equivalent: Pugilist

Style: Amaare is a hand to hand street fighter brawler he loves "scrappin" as he calls it. In real life he would be equivalent to the more dirty styled mma fighters with a very circular emphasis on his footwork literally walking around his enemy in a circle as he pummels them.

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Versatile, though he prefers hitting and moving at the same time. He has a very circular fighting method which helps him it and dodge hits extremely well.

Strengths: Strength and speed

Weaknesses: Unpredictable. Some days he is fantastic, other days he is literally fighting half asleep because well he can be lazy at times.

 

Summary: Growing up on a boat Amaare was forced to be versatile, he had to learn several ways of fighting due to the unpredictability the environment of a boat provides. His father was keen on him know how to adjust to any situation. taking hits like a Marauder, being able to distance fight like an archer and of course good old hand to hand being a puglist. (Amaare is -not- a monk and never would be, he is more jack of all trades, but master of none)

 

Extra: There are many times where he will not fight at all due to just not feeling like it. Getting beat up in these situations might happen. Also he will try his best to not fight opponents who are not in their right mnds. Despite his family's pirate background he is very honorable and will try his best to not fight those who are obviously weaker than him, even if they start the fight. Amaare is more willing to fight to protect others than just for the sake of fighting. He fought for survival not for fame or the enjoyment of it. If he has to do it he loves it, but otherwise its not something he seeks out. Unless you are Garlean.

[YesGood]

 

Character: Azyria Ziada, aka Blue Moon

Primary Weapon(s): Spear

Class-equivalent: Lancer/Dragoon

Style: .. I don't honestly know of any spear-based fighting style. If you do, feel free to make suggestions.

 

 

Spears in history usually were pretty straight forward so far as I know. A lot of thrusting and such. There's the naginata but that's a halberd. I think one way to approach spear use in a non-European fashion is going the bo staff route and mingling thrusts with the attacks.

 

 

Wushu bo staff usage.

 

Spinning a spear would take a little more adaptation depending on the size of the spear head but it would supplement some of that defense that's necessary and help give a spear-wielder more space should their opponent get into their danger zone of close quarters range. Two of our Grindstone members use the spear in different ways, both of which I enjoy.

[IncubusManatee]

Character: Baer Reddicta

Primary Weapon(s): Bare-handed fighting.

Class-equivalent: Pugilist

Style: Muay Thai-ish style of fighting.

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Hyper-Aggressive. Offensive and Reactive Based.

Strengths: Constantly puts pressure on an enemy/target.

Weaknesses: Exhaustive and focused about only offense.

Summary: Strong style focused on offense, but lacks in defense and rely's on the persons endurance to continue actively fighting for long periods.

 

 

 

 

The style in question that Baer uses is a mix of old school Muay Thai and Street Fighting. It is semi-wild due to its creation-mostly out of going from a brawler into a professional fighter. Having learned rather little in a traditional sense, he has taken what he can from other styles and implemented them into his own. Practicing constantly-by picking fights with people who had it coming, going to dojo's and going into competitions all over Eorzea. 

 

With all of this considered. The style has one single stance. Arms broad-shouldered to the side in a upwards facing fashion. Feet spread moderately apart, and not in line. 

 

 

When fighting:

 

The style focuses around constantly laying into the target in question. Leaving little to no time to react, think or prepare. Rock the enemy onto their heels and keep them moving back while you charge foreward. Kick's are relgated to two types: Forward and Roundhouse. Punches are much more varied, ranging from hooks to jabs, uppercuts and unusual strikes such as palm strikes and elbow strikes.

 

Defense is focused mainly around dodging or parrying, blocking wastes precious energy. As most blocks are force-on-force, requiring you to stay planted and an easier target. So moving about a lot is common in this style. And reactive attacks, countering an attack with your own, while minimizing surface damage or internal damage from the strike in question.

 

Training:

 

Training itself is focused around building endurance, speed, toughness and raw power. Hitting as hard and fast as you can is the theory behind this whole style. Being able to strike any surface with your limbs and not suffer for it. So a common practice is to start off kicking/punching/striking tree's, moving to stones, and then slowly to steel. (Or steel then rock, depends on environment and person in question) Common practice: Striking a piece of steel with the first two knuckles for hours on end while doing daily practices. Build callous and bone density.

 

Overall the style requires an immense amount of pain threshold in order to function effectively. You will get hurt, you will be injured, and learning to fight with those injuries is also a important facet.

 

On the offense: 

 

Aiming to break joints, fracture bones, strike to vital areas (Such as the neck, eyes, throat, groin, kidneys, back). Especially if the person uses a weapon, break fingers, wrist or forearm. Joints are easily damaged. If armored, abuse your speed over their slower posture. Aim for weak points-under the arm especially. Can disconnect the shoulder rather easily that was. Back of the leg as well. Or knees in general, lots of extra weight on the body. Damage the ACL or MCL of the enemy-and deny them the ability to move if they want to fight in a iron cocoon.

 

Against Weapons: 

 

Same theorem is applied here as when fighting an enemy that is bare handed as well. Spears? Get close and deny their range. Swords? Get in close, block out their swings. If their short-bladed weapons, focus on getting them to wide swing or stab. Easiest to parry and counter.

 

Axes? Lots of handle to grab, and swings are wide by nature. Close in, deny sweeps. Bows? Try and use cover and close distance immediately. Weave, make yourself a small target.

 

The main basis is to draw in close and fight at any point in time. 

 

Summing the style up in one word: Brutal.

 

[DAISHI]

Character: Sin Darius

Primary Weapon(s): The Great Axe, His Fists

Class-equivalent: Warrior/Marauder/Gladiator/Badass

Style: Viking/Israeli Commando

Offense/Defense/Versatile: Primarily Offensive

Strengths: Stamina, Vitality, Strength

Weaknesses: Agility, Range

 

Summary: Sin Darius is the reincarnated spirit of Daishi. Both men grew in the desert and practiced their arts on the shifting sands, learning to fight against raw beasts, massive worms, dread antlions, Anticans and Amaal Ja. Trained to endure weeks without food and days without water, to exist under the most stressful of conditions and one of only ten babies that survive to adulthood from his tribe, Sin Darius is the ultimate survival machine. Gifted with immense survivability, he prefers a one on one combat, though his tactical abilities gifted from years of warfare allow him to use a variety of debilitating moves that weaken his foe. However, as with all people of his tribe, Sin Darius' greatest gift is the willingness to lay his life down with his friend, and uses the intimidating lure of his weapon to keep his enemy's attention.

 

Defensive- Sin Darius' great weapon allows him the easy attention of his foes. With his years of training in harsh conditions, on constantly shifting footing against stronger foes, Sin has learned to parry a great deal of his enemy's attacks using the length of his Great Axe and its reinforced shaft. Given the great width of its blade, he need not worry about where to strike in most cases. However, when pressed, he can strike the leg of his enemy to hinder their movement, or strike at at their side to release a constant flow of blood that will debilitate them over a long term battle. His ability to summon inner strength grants him increased defensive capabilities and the stamina to absorb what would be devastating strikes to lesser warriors.

 

Offensive- On the offensive is where Sin Darius is most comfortable. A mad man in battle that summons a berserker rage, he draws strength from the blows he lands upon his enemies. He will use every element of his environment to his advantage, circling around his enemies, crushing them with downward strikes, leaping from the direction of their blows, swinging wide, at moments elevating his rage to such levels that he can summon powerful offensive strikes in succession, raining them down with unrelenting fury. Parrying each blow of his enemy he will use Axe, tomahawks, the shaft end of his Great Axe and the bikes in its head to impale his foes. Sin Darius uses every element of his weaponry and his environment to move forward UNTO GREAT VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Extra: Sin Darius will do anything that is required to kill you. While many others see an undisciplined madman, in truth its is two lifetime's worth of discipline, tactical training and nonstop combat that have been honed into what only seems to be an unpredictable style. In truth it is highly regimented and thought out, with each blow known beforehand after a second's worth assessment of his foe.

 

Double Extra: You bleed, he drinks it. You tire, he smiles. As you wither, he takes your life force for his own. He is Sin Darius, Daishi, the Deathbringer!